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Thursday, July 30, 2009

Carrie Bradshaw, Love Stories, Jonas Brothers

When I pulled up Blogger, I fully intended to talk about the usual stuff. How Jess and I watched Billy Madison and ate a pan of Rice Krispies Treats to chase our burrito bols, the lung-busting hilarity of last night when Sebastian and I attacked each other with sticks of butter, how I posted a video on fiveawesomegirls. But there's something about having a laptop that makes me feel like Carrie Bradshaw, and I can't fight the urge to throw my hair in a bun, eat imaginary ice cream out of a carton, and lean over Microsoft Word pensively. I feel like I should write up funny, revealing vignettes about my friends' adventures with sex and the city, and ask some kind of deep, unanswerable question in a large font. 

Well, I'm no Sarah Jessica Parker, but in my little suburban corner of the world, I've been thinking about the writing of love stories.

In Tuesday's BlogTV show about relationships, John Green mentioned that most love stories, while entertaining and sweet and interesting, are either about stalking, or promote some seriously twisted ideas about love. The story begins after the big airport kiss, and a happy wedding ending is both unrealistic and insulting to those in real, human love. Someone in the chat also pointed out that for as often as love stories begin with hating the other person, in the healthier tales, the ones rarely told, they like each other all along. The chat was moving too quickly to effectively get a word in edgewise, but I couldn't help think, What about Shakespeare, John? Jane Austen, anyone? 

I decided to take matters into my own hands. I've begun rereading one of my favorite books of all time, Pride and Prejudice, in hopes that I'll discover some kind of latent formula that makes a love story go from a cliche to a home-hitting classic. A prime example of what both John and the viewer consider to be unrealistic, it's a wonder that P&P is so true to so many generations of people. Maybe it's the exception to the rule. Maybe it's due to brilliant characterization, and since most women relates to Lizzy, most women are willing to believe that the whole ordeal could happen to them.

Unfortunately, I haven't reached any life-changing conclusions as of yet. I'll keep my eyes open if you will. Along with being the first record of one girl's passionate battle to consume fifty high-calorie burritos in a year, maybe this teenybopper blog will be the first to crack the mysteries of human emotion.

Or, you know, I could just link you to this corny Jonas Brothers video I keep watching. :-p

Sexy: Those awkward, dark-haired Christian brothers in weird little outfits. I don't care if Nick Jonas is two years younger than I am (we have the same birthday!) or if that makes him a legal minor. First opportunity, I'd go pedo for a Jonas.
Unsexy: The repulsion and guilt that accompany realizing one's attraction to the Jonas Brothers.

Chipotle burritos this year: 25
S'mores this summer: 6
Subscribers: 18,734

Bye, guys! Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow. <3

49 comments:

Leah said...

You are an interesting person. I never tire of you.

I really hope you'll continue blogging when I'm around next month. I want to be able to read about it later.

Maurr said...

Oh Hayley. I love reading your blogs. Not only are they insightful and thought-provoking, but I really can't help but laugh aloud to myself when you talk about imagining yourself as Carrie. I relate so well to you =] keep up the good work!!

-___- said...

The Jonas Brothers.
Nice sexy/unsexy. Even though Nick Jonas is older than me/has a gf, I secretly think he's sexy. :O

Olivia said...

I love Jane Austen. I think P&P works (like most of Austen's novels) because it isn't trying to be a Great Romance like Romeo and Juliet, or Wuthering Heights, or Twilight that are intense and involve passion and suicide. It's a more rational romance, as expressed here:

“If gratitude and esteem are good foundations of affection, Elizabeth’s change of sentiment will be neither improbable nor faulty. But if otherwise, if the regard springing from such sources is unreasonable or unnatural, in comparison of what is so often described as arising on a first interview with its object, and even before two words have been exchanged, nothing can be said in her defence, except that she had given somewhat of a trial to the latter method in her partiality for Wickham, and that its ill-success might perhaps authorise her to seek the other less interesting mode of attachment.”

Gotta love Austen prose.

The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon is probably my favorite love story. She tells the story of a marriage, not just the falling-in-love part. The characters get married about half-way through the first book of the series, and the seventh book comes out this fall. So there's a bit more after the "I dos". I recommend.

Gavin said...

Wow, how many people would type 'I'd go pedo' somewhere on the internet...
You are very special Hayley

Brad said...

Love? C'mon Hayley, give us a hard subject to discuss! :P

Love is knowing a person's faults and ignoring them. Love is seeing someone at their worst. Love is allowing someone to see YOUR worst. Love is saying your sorry. Love is friendship. Love is compromise. Love is acceptance. Love is the most difficult challenge ever, and the most fulfilling. Love is forgiveness. Love is not lust, and that is where so many authors go wrong. Love is hard.

So yeah, I've got a few years on you, and I have no idea about love. Good luck with that! :)

Courtney said...

Okay, so I kinda hate myself for leaving a comment for this reason...but you forgot the 's' on 'years.'

Yeah, I just became that girl, the annoying grammar nit-picker.

If it helps, I'm a fan of the blog! Your writing never fails to entertain. =)

Anonymous said...

Your Sexy/Unsexy is the most accurate description of someone's attraction to the JoBros. You never fail to amaze me Hayley. Which is why I think that if you were to write a love story, it would be amazing. And I'd have the release date marked on my calendar early anticipating the day I can put an "X" on it.

Sara said...

ah, that music video is so cute. It was back before Joe was breaking Nick's hand with drum sticks and crying on stage about Camilla...

Summer said...

it's truly sad how much I love Nick Jonas.

Also, I read The Year of Secret Assignments last week because you mentioned it on your blog a while back. SO GOOD! Thank you for that!

Erin said...

OR 500 Days
of
summer
that
was
really
accurate
sorry
my
space
bar
is
deciding
not
to
work

Laila said...

Thank goodness for your blog because You Tube subscription boxes fail.

But also in general, thank goodness for your blog.

Hayley_leesha666 said...

Hayley, i dont think you understand how excited i get when i watch one of your new videos.. or my page refreshes with a new blog. It's terrible i get this grin thing on my face and get all excited. This just happened when i refreshed and saw this blog post. This is the conversation that followed:
My Mother: Hayley are you talking to a boy!?!"
ME: No mother, i am not.
Mother: Dont lie to me.. i can see your face over there! Who is it?
Me: no.. i am not talking to a boy, i am reading a blog by a girl in America.. remember me telling you about the Fiveawesomegirls?
Mother: Hayley, that is precisely why your not talking to boys and if you dont stop, precisely why you never will.

So unfortunatly i dont think i am qualified to express my opinions of love. But i did play the role of Mrs Bennet in P&P and i agree with the idea that women can relate to Elizabeth and also i think that the concept of finding true love is always inspirational to girls, but i think ( as snobbish as this may sound) the thought of marrying a rich, attractive man who can offer a whole new lifestyle is also kind of a winner to women!

Once again, great blog! I must admit to acting like Carrie Bradshaw when i got a laptop too... Im sure this must be another reason i am single?
xx

traderbob11 said...

HUH?
I know of none of this stuff you speak of.
Buns in the hair(is this why Sebastin needed to butter you?)
Sex in the city-Never seen it.
Blog T.V.-Never seen it.
Love-Only of a broken heart(I guess that's not love).
Microsoft Word-I use Greetings Workshop Deluxe to compose my letters-wrote a letter to my senator with it-his aide called me just today to discuss my letter. The man told me he had never received a letter such as mine.(I'm pretty much thinking here that I should learn of this Microsoft Word of which you speak).
Shakespeare, Jonas Bros(hah) and the others(errr I just draw a blank).
Chipotle-Never eaten there.
Is Billy Madison a character that Adam Sandler played?
Rice Krispies Treats--FINALLY WE HAVE FOUND COMMON GROUND :)

Natasha said...

Hayley, I just spent way to long watching Jonas Brothers videos on youtube. You are so right about pretty much everything.

Katy said...

omg Jonas Brothers.

we share a soul.

totally knew you were gonna post a video to lovebug.

Yes I love me some Nick.

And I had a dream the other night that Kevin and I were best friends and Joe had broken up with that one girl and Nick and I were like "wtf man shape up" and Joe was all "boo hoo."

... I have interesting dreams.

Javiera Hernandez said...

*extreme sigh*
i can see myself becoming addicted to your blog. :]
I'm 20 years old and along with my two 20 year old roommates, i look up at our poster of the jonas brother and wish i were years younger and had a chance with a jonas.
As for the whole love story deal, have you seen "He's just not that into you?"Maybe Jane Austen characters are typically the exception and not the rule. Which is what kind of draws me off of Jane Austen. Not entirely though, I wouldn't be able to live without the thought of a Mr.Darcy out there or a Capt. Wentworth!

janitorbud said...

lol i totally agree with your sexy and unsexy part of today's blog.
except i'd go for joe
and that means i wouldn't be pedo! yay

i love the luvbug video

i don't really know what to say about your love-story dilemma...

..so bye <3

Megan said...

This scared me a little because while cleaning my room today I found Pride and Prejudice under my bed and started reading it again. I kept looking around the room to make sure I wasn't being watched until I realized that it is one in the morning and I'm alone.

Scott said...

It was Jane Austen who said "Is not general incivility the very essence of love?" Totally blows my mind every time I reflect on that quote. Hopefully it will guide you on your path to enlightenment. :p

Indigo said...

It's the return of the embarrajams! Yeah, I'm kind of obsessed with Selena Gomez at the moment. *hides head in shame*

Joanne said...

lawlz at erin and traderbob's posts
question: shouldn't the "relate" in "...and since most women relates to Lizzy" have one less 's'? Maybe it just moved from the 's' that was supposed to be in years. . .?
ta ta!

Jen Carrieri said...

The funny thing is that I was just reading Pride & Prejudice last night. This is like romance love week on YouTube because first there is that wedding video of those people dancing to Forever, and of corse John's video/Blogtv on the subject. On the whole Jonas situation, I am the same age as Nick sooooooooooooooooo since it would kind of be illegal for you to date him I will just take him off your hands (just kidding, kinda).

A.J. James said...

Finally saw HBP tonight... and I agree with assessment
I know that I am two weeks passed due... but life she is hard...

VicMorrowsGhost said...

You are far more intelligent, thoughtful and better looking than Carry Whatsherface.

ginger jones said...

I have a really bad habit of pretending I'm Carrie Bradshaw when I'm drunk, wearing a pretty dress, high heels and strolling through the city to catch up to my friends. I also hear her voice narrating and analysing what's going on and it makes me feel somewhat cooler.

Caroline said...

I hope that one day there is a show called "fiveawesomegirls and the tube" and that you can write exactly what you just did, on camera, while eating a Jonas Brothers sponsored flavor of Ben & Jerry's. It would be magical yes?

Karissa said...

I love how you put topics into such different light.

Also, really? You got a bol after the whole bit earlier in the year about the bol? Kidding, we'll still count it toward the official burrito tally, but only because it's impressive how many you've already had this year. [:

Tara said...

Okay I already commented on your new video, but I just had to comment here also and say that your impressions of Kristina and Lauren were PERFECT!

Crystal said...

I always wonder about endings in love stories and their sequels. In the first story, the ending is all happy and perfect and nothing could will break us because we made it through all that hardship, but then the sequel starts and you find out they split up two months ago because person A cheated on person B with their fourth grade crush and they end up hating each other.

I even have a real-life example through my parents. I found my mom's scrapbook from high school. There's a bunch of stuff in it, but the second half of it is mostly filled with things pertaining to my dad, i.e. letters he wrote her, pictures he drew, cards from their anniversaries, etc. The last page of the scrapbook is a picture from their wedding. Sadly, I know that my dad ended up cheating on my mom like 10 years later or something, causing them to get divorced before I was even born. (I was conceived, though!)

Anyway, my point of this very long comment is, what do you think of endings in love stories and their sequels, minus techniques to create plot/drama?

maddy said...

I immediately thought of Pride and Prejudice during that BlogTV show as well. Commenter Olivia basically already said what I was going to say--that P&P works better than intense, passionate love stories such as Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, or Twilight. Pride and Prejudice is much more real to readers; there are no sweeping, undying declarations of everlasting love, only little, sweet moments of connection that ring true.

I could ramble on about this for ages as Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite (if not my absolute favorite) novels of all time, haha. Great blog entry as always, Hayley. Keep up the good work. :)

Morgan said...

I LOVE THAT SONG!!!
Embarrassing, yes, but oh so true. :)
And I love you, Hayley, because you are so much like me. :P

Anonymous said...

I can't help it that I am really attracted to guys with dark, curly hair, dark eyes, and pale skin.

It's like a disease. O.o

Unknown said...

"I'd go Pedo for a Jonas" is quite possibly the greatest I have heard/read all week. Also, somehow Nick is even cuter with glasses ^__^

I read Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, and I loved it so much, I can't bring myself to read Pride & Prejudice, because I am worried it will let me down.... Does that make any sense?

Nicholas said...

I'd like you make a video with you as CB and speaking from the off while writing about something like fighting with butter sticks... just a suggestion.

AWhatFighter? said...

Really? The Jonas Brothers? I can't really say anything because I use to have a crush on Nick, but oh well.

I think everyone enjoyed your presence at Charlie's BlogTV, especially while he was playing that love song for you. =D

the apple that astonished paris said...

ahahaha. youuuu are awesome.

... but lay off joe, miss, he has my birthday. that gives me fate-dibs. >.> obviously.

seurat2 said...

I'm going to avert my eyes from this new Jonas brothers obsession and pretend it never happened, since the idea of you with any of them makes me a little queasy. I actually walked by Much Music here when they were rehearsing their hosting duties and playing one of their songs, and I just kept walking. Didn't even slow down after I knew for sure it was them. Good luck with the love stories though, as long as the Jonas brothers make no appearances I'm right there with you.

Adam said...

people tell me i look like nick jonas.
now this is the first time i feel like that's not an insult.
except for the whole repulsion and guilt thing :D

Taylor said...

Hey Hayley! I just wanted to say that I really enjoy reading your blogs. I watched your videos on 5AG and Hayleyghoover first and started reading this when you mentioned them on there.

madhu~ said...

I must say I have seen that JoBros (HA) music video and I loved it a lot the first time...but I have no idea why now. It is quite cheesy and isn't very effective anyway?

Unknown said...

You should read the collection My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead, edited by Jeffrey Eugenides. It's a collection of love stories, many of them by Chekov, Munro, etc. He explains that the point is not love but the love story. They're not all happy endings and romance. I'm only about 4 stories in so far but it's amazing.

Cat (: said...

fine, i admit it.

I FIND NICK JONAS ATTRACTIVE.

well i would, if he'd KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT.
i absolutely cannot stand his voice.


also hayley, what i love about this blog isnt the deep, insightful posts (don't get me wrong, i like those too), but the posts just about everyday life and how you make them funny and sweet(:

Anonymous said...

I once read that all love stories either end in a death or a wedding.

Anonymous said...

i could see you being the next carrie!

Unknown said...

Is it sad that your blogs always play in my head in the voice of Carrie Bradshaw anyway...? Your life is infinatly more relatable to me, a 19 year old virgin then sex in the city ever was (not that I'm dissing it... I loved that show!)

keep writing... I think your amazing.

Anonymous said...

I have this problem where, although I can have strong opinions about something, if someone well-spoken and intelligent who I admire says something I almost always automatically believe him/her. So even if I disagreed with something John said, it wouldn't occur to me until much later.
I admire how you were able to think of Shakespeare and Jane Austen and to disagree with John.
I'm probably the only person like this, and I know it's bad. But yeah, you are basically amazing.

-alex

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed reading your blog. I have a few blogs of my own and I always look at other people’s blogs for great ideas.Thanks for sharing this information.

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blue shield

sterff1face said...

Aawww, Nick Jonas was always my underage temptation as well. :D It didn't help that my mom bribed me and my friend to take my youngest sister to their concert in her place and it really didn't help that my sister took it upon herself to text me a congratulartory reminder when he turned 18. Thank you 13 year old sister for congrats on no longer being a creeper. :)